My Most Frequent Visitor's Name Is Anonymous.

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "The Best Cheesecake In The World.": 

Hi! I know this is kinda off topic but I'd figured I'd ask.
Would you be interested in exchanging links or maybe guest 
authoring a blog article or vice-versa? My website discusses 
a lot of the same subjects as yours and I think we could 
greatly benefit from each other. If you're interested feel free to shoot me an email. I look forward to hearing from you! Awesome blog by the way!

Why oh why does this person called Anonymous keep commenting on my posts?  He or she is a real pain in the you know where.

Unfortunately, he or she is also one of my most frequent visitors to my blog.

Does he or she really think I want an escort service?
Does he or she really think I want an endless supply of sports shoes?
Does he or she really think I'd fall for his or her ploys?
How much time does this person have to make endless badly written comments on other people's blogs?

The above comment is one of the cleverer ones, he or she is appealing to my vanity and I'm thinking 'is there a future for me out there as a writer?'.  Except - this comment is coming from someone writing a blog on an escort service?  Come on...pull the other one. 

I also have a bit of a puzzle going on about one of my posts...it has had 522 hits since the end of January 2013...and not one comment.  Ah, the beauty of statistics.

But, this Anonymous reminds me of a true story...

A group  of women were discussing baby names as one of the women was heavily pregnant.

The youngest of the group said I just love the name Anon.
Another woman said to her...what an unusual name, but it does have a nice ring to it.  Do you know someone by this name?

Oh no, said the young woman but there is a poet called Anon, they have written quite a few poems from what I can tell.


Have a nice day...and maybe you'll click on the link above and change the statistics around a bit for me....

Blue Mountains Bicentenary 1813-2013 May 26

The weather continued its magic for our second day of a commemorative weekend for the folk of the Blue Mountains.

Mr Honey Pie and I managed to slip in a leisurely walk along the banks of Wentworth Fall Lake on a stunning autumn morning before heading back down the mountain for a concert.

Wentworth Falls Lake is of course named after the explorer Gregory Wentworth.

It was created by damming the Jamison Creek to provide water for the steam railway nearby.

Today it is a popular picnic destination and a bird and wildlife refuge.

It was a delight to see people dressed in period costume.  

 So reminded me of Jane Austen times.

  There was also a huge variety of craft stalls for the many visitors to the day.

Blue Mountains Bicentenary 1813-2013

The month of May 2013 marks the 200th anniversary of the crossing of the Blue Mountains by the explorers Blaxland, Wentworth and Lawson.

The crossing commenced forty five kilometres away at the Nepean River and followed the mountain ridge line for seventy five kilometres.

Today, descendants of the three explorers flew over the mountains in Australia's largest ever civilian flyover.

As you can see we've been blessed with glorious weather.

On A Mission

I've been on a bit of a mission the past few months.  To shed some kilos.

About eight months ago I came to the realisation that not only was I many kilograms overweight but my weight gain was continuing on an upward spiral...something that has never happened to me before.  I have never weighed more in my life than what I did eight months ago.

I tried the juicing thingy. It worked for a bit but I really couldn't see myself doing it long term.

So I started counting calories.  

I've lost seven kilos!

Have you heard of lemon water? I drink it for its ability to alkalize the body and for its high vitamin C content. This morning I decided to have it hot with a sprig of lemon balm.  Lemon balm is a great mood lifter.  And my mood certainly needs lifting at the moment.  For a variety of reason.  But that's another story. 

I also enjoyed a persimmon for breakfast.

One thing that counting calories has made me aware of is how much sugar I have each day.

Too much sugar makes the body acidic.

I believed that I was not one for having lots of sugar in my diet but now I realise that I have more that what I need.

So I juggle what I'm going to eat to try and cut down on the sweet stuff but I don't cut it out completely.

I also found this helpful chart to identify causes for certain cravings. 

Counting calories has encouraged me to do more exercise too...after all, exercise burns calories.

I've also started meditating...and talking less.  The effect has been interesting to say the least.

As If I Could

If there are two things that most evoke memories of my childhood - they would have to be persimmons (the astringent variety), and skeins of wool.

Devouring squishy, jelly-like, elegantly-sweet, fruit (the only way to eat astringent persimmons) and unravelling wool for knitting were both activities that might have taken place on wet, foggy, autumn days.  My younger sister disliked persimmons. Not surprising since she disliked most foods that once grew as a plant.  

As children we squabbled over who would be the holder and who would be the unraveller...of the skein.  The one who wound the ever-growing ovoid was the ultimate winner.

Some times there was no holder available and the back of a chair would have to suffice.

My sister and I learnt how to knit at a very early age.

I was knitting myself cardigans around age seven or eight. When my twin sisters arrived when I was eight years old, I could knit baby booties without the need of a pattern - because I knew the pattern off by heart.

These days my memory isn't so good.

Buying skeins of wool is becoming common again, especially if it's hand dyed or hand spun.

I found both these skeins of wool and the persimmons at the local markets.

All I need to do now is wait for the persimmons to become squishy sweet; and to decide a  pattern for my home dyed skeins of wool.  I'm thinking the unravelled skeins will be knitted up into scarves.

Afternoon Tea - Mother's Day

In Australia,

Mother's Day is celebrated on 

the second Sunday in May.

I was lucky enough to have all my children (residing in Sydney) spend the day with me.

In the afternoon we

visited extended family for lunch-which was quickly followed by afternoon tea.

I was also very lucky to receive a surprise in the mail from our eldest son and our new daughter in law, just in time for Mother's Day.

How did you spend Mother's Day?

When is Mother's Day celebrated in  your country?

Linking to Terri's

Teacup Tuesday

and 

Martha's Favorites

Partial Solar Eclipse

Australia is  experiencing the partial solar eclipse known as the ring of fire.

I'm not one for solar photography so apologies for the photo.

I also  have to admit, we are not in one of the better places to view the eclipse.

Some better ones can be seen here

Mother's Day 2013

In Australia we celebrate Mother's Day on the second Sunday in May.

I haven't shared any card making of late so I thought I'd take the opportunity to share the card I made for my Mum this coming Sunday.

The torn heart card has been coloured with chalks. 

I've applied the KISS principle here. 

As my Mum ages, I find it more and more difficult to find a suitable gift for her.

I'm beginning to understand her requests for 'no gifts', and 'spending time with family' as I grow older too.

Last week I caught her admiring a succulent that is growing in my garden.

A piece had fallen off one of the plants and I could see that she was itching to take it home with her.  She is a proud woman and no way would she ask to have the 'cutting'.

I've inherited some nice ceramic pots so I'm thinking I might give her a much larger and well established version of the plant in one of these pots.

Over the years she has propagated countless plants and now that she is losing her garden in her eightieth year, I recognize signs in her behaviour showing how much she still wants to continue with her favourite pass time.

I know the gift she'll love most is having her children, grandchildren and great granddaughter spend the afternoon with her.

What are you planning for your Mum on Mother's Day? 

Testing Times

Hi, just a post to test the waters...having trouble uploading pictures via picasa ...

Perth II - Amazing Skies

As we left our home town by train, to travel to the airport we caught this fabulous sunrise.

Perth is on opposite sides to the country from Sydney, so whereas the sun sets over the mountains in Sydney, it sets over the ocean in Perth.

Here is Cotteloe Beach, drenched in golden light at sunset.

Kings Park, Perth.

Perth skyline from Kings Park.